# Americans believe businesses share the blame for AI data breaches

Canonical page: https://data.verasight.io/ai/responsibility-for-ai-agent-breaches/
Published: 2026-10-07

> Featured topic in AI & Tech.

If hackers exploit an AI agent to steal customer data, 60.7% of Americans assign heavy responsibility to the company using it and 59.6% to its developer.

## Overview: Responsibility extends beyond the attackers

In a Verasight survey of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted September 16 to 21, 2026, 60.7% assign a great deal of responsibility to a company whose AI agent is exploited to steal customer information. A similar 59.6% assign that responsibility to the company that built the agent.

The scenario is hypothetical: criminals exploit an agent built by an outside technology company. Respondents assess each party separately, so responsibility can be shared.

## Businesses using the agent share responsibility

For the company using the agent, 60.7% assign a great deal of responsibility and 23.6% assign some.

Another 7.4% assign not much responsibility, 3.4% none at all and 5.0% are unsure. The question concerns the company’s role in the scenario, not a finding of legal liability.

## Developers face similar expectations

For the outside technology company that built the agent, 59.6% assign a great deal of responsibility and 24.2% assign some.

These responses closely resemble those for the company using the agent. The survey does not ask respondents to divide a fixed amount of blame between the two businesses.

## Attackers bear the greatest responsibility

Criminal attackers receive the strongest response: 81.0% assign them a great deal of responsibility.

Government regulators also face scrutiny for not setting clearer rules. Some 47.1% assign them a great deal of responsibility and 30.6% assign some.

## Supporting evidence

### 60.7% say companies using AI agents would bear a great deal of responsibility if criminals exploited an AI agent to steal customers’ personal information.

Question: - The company that was using the AI agent

Topline:

- A great deal: 60.7%
- Some: 23.6%
- Not much: 7.4%
- Not sure: 5.0%
- None at all: 3.4%

### 59.6% say AI agent developers would bear a great deal of responsibility if criminals exploited an AI agent to steal customers’ personal information.

Question: - The technology company that built the AI agent

Topline:

- A great deal: 59.6%
- Some: 24.2%
- Not much: 7.5%
- Not sure: 5.3%
- None at all: 3.4%

### 81.0% say criminal attackers would bear a great deal of responsibility if criminals exploited an AI agent to steal customers’ personal information.

Question: - The criminals who carried out the attack

Topline:

- A great deal: 81.0%
- Some: 6.6%
- Not sure: 5.1%
- Not much: 4.9%
- None at all: 2.4%

### 47.1% assign government regulators a great deal of responsibility for not setting clearer rules in the scenario where criminals exploit an AI agent to steal customers’ information.

Question: - Government regulators, for not setting clearer rules

Topline:

- A great deal: 47.1%
- Some: 30.6%
- Not much: 11.7%
- None at all: 5.4%
- Not sure: 5.2%

## Methodology

- Mode: Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population: US adults age 18+
- Field dates: 2026-09-16 → 2026-09-21
- Base (unweighted): 1,500
- Margin of error: +/- 2.6%
- Module: Current Events Survey #2026-243
- Sponsor: Verasight
- Weight variable: weight
- Weighting targets: age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

## Sources

- [- The company that was using the AI agent](https://reports.verasight.io/r/2026-243-current-events-report#q-2): reports.verasight.io/r/2026-243-current-events-report
- [- The technology company that built the AI agent](https://reports.verasight.io/r/2026-243-current-events-report#q-2): reports.verasight.io/r/2026-243-current-events-report
- [- The criminals who carried out the attack](https://reports.verasight.io/r/2026-243-current-events-report#q-2): reports.verasight.io/r/2026-243-current-events-report
- [- Government regulators, for not setting clearer rules](https://reports.verasight.io/r/2026-243-current-events-report#q-2): reports.verasight.io/r/2026-243-current-events-report

## Citation

September Verasight National Survey: Current Events and Prediction Markets, fielded September 16-21, 2026, N=1,500 US adults age 18+, +/- 2.6%.

Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/2026-243-current-events-report#q-2](https://reports.verasight.io/r/2026-243-current-events-report#q-2)